Garlic Harvest 2010

Here are some pictures of the garlic I harvested last week.

These are from the USDA test cloves that I was sent.

I cut the tops off and they are drying in front of a fan. Last year I made the mistake of leaving the tops on so I could 'braid' the garlic.

Garlic lasts for longer if it doesn't have the tops still attached.

These pics do not include the garlic I grew from cloves that I saved from previous harvests or the elephant garlic.
I have a lot of garlic!
This year I promised to plant less garlic, but it didn't work out that way!

Why July Is Depressing

I find July very depressing.

Why?

Well, the growing season is almost over. The only thing a gardener has to look forward to at this time of the year is the maintenance work of weeding and harvesting and the inevitable death of their garden.

There isn't any fun planning or planting. Even January is less depressing, because there is Spring to look forward to and the frantic picking of seeds/plants and indoor starting of seedlings.

July is also a big let down, because when you see some of your January garden daydreams in the unforgiving July sunshine, they don't look as wonderful and amazing as you imagined.

Don't even get me started on the mosquitoes!

or

quack grass!

*sigh*

Maybe you have a longer growing season, but for me, living in Minnesota, July is a depressing month.

How to: Build A Tomato Wall

How to build a Tomato Wall:

2 x 3/4" 10' EMT conduit

2 x 3/4" conduit connectors

zip ties

2 T-stakes

twine

plastic netting

Cut one 10' EMT conduit in half. These 2 halves make your 5' legs.

Bend 2nd 10' EMT conduit with a pipe bender. The top will be 3' long and each leg will be 3.5 ' long.

Pound your T-stakes into the ground.

Using the 3/4" connectors attach the 5' legs to the 3.5' legs. You now have a 8.5' tall trellis.

Use the zip ties to attach the trellis to the T-stakes.

Use the twine to attach the plastic netting to the trellis.

Done!

Now weave your tomatoes into the plastic netting. As they grow, continue to weave them in and out of the netting.

Zip ties, twine and plastic netting attached to trellis and T-stake.

3/4" connector.


Completed tomato walls.

I buy my plastic netting here - American Nettings
Full grown tomato walls can be seen here - Tomato Walls and Me

Can Jam June: Cherry Spice Jelly

I'm too late for the Can Jam round-up, but I wanted to share my creation for the Can Jam challenge. It was inspired by my recent trip to the Spice Market in Seattle.

Cherry Spice Jelly

64 oz cherry juice

4 Tbs "Market Spice" loose tea

tea bag

1 pkg no sugar needed pectin

1 cup sugar

In a large saucepan bring cherry juice and tea to a boil. Remove tea bag, add pectin and return to a boil. Add sugar and return to a hard boil that can not be stirred down. Pour into prepared jars and process for 10 mins. in a boiling water bath canner.

What do you do when you have a 5 gallon bucket of frozen cherries?

Pit them.....

...................... and make jam!

In the pic above you can see a couple of my souvenirs from our trip to Washington. I like to buy milk in glass bottles while I'm on vacation and then bring the glass bottle home as a souvenir. They come in handy, holding homemade juices, broths and iced tea.

You can also see the tea I bought at the Public Market in Seattle at the Spice Market. It has cinnamon oil in it, which adds a sweet, but not sugary flavor to the jelly.

Putting the tea in a tea bag.

Cherry juice and tea bag.

Finished jelly.

It is very tart, but has a sweet cinnamon aftertaste. It tastes like the perfect essence of cherries.

Pike's Market: Savor Seattle Tour Part 1

Start of the Pike's Place Savor Seattle Tour
We met at a Starbuck's outside the market and the tour guide passed out ear pieces.
The ear pieces were really nice, because you could hear everything the guide was saying without being right next to him. If you fell back to look at something, you didn't miss any of the tour. The only strange part: I went to the bathroom and could still hear the tour. Little bit creepy. :P

After a frozen treat at Starbuck's we had donuts here.

Then we went to the Spice Market. This is such a great store! We had samples of Spice Market tea, which has cinnamon oil in it. I hate cinnamon teas like the Good Earth tea, but this was yummy! Sweet, but not sugary.

Lots of spices and teas.

Then we had 3 samples of smoked salmon.

Lots of tourists.

Piggy bank. People put in money and the money goes to pay for food and medical care for the (homeless) people that live in the market.

Fruit!

The next stop was Frank's for some grapes and cherry samples.

See part 2 for how delicious these morels were.

We didn't really stop at this both and there wasn't any sample, but the guide told us a little about the chile garlands. I don't know what he said, because I was still distracted by all the gorgeous fruit and vegetables!

They sure are pretty!

Another store. I just snapped pics of everything.

Next stop was the Pike Place Chowder. Soooooo good. I didn't get a pic of the actually chowder, because my hands were full with the 2 cute little cups of chowder that we ate as samples. The best chowder EVER!!

Post alley.

Why is it called Post Alley?

Because there is a post.

People hitched their horses to posts in this alley instead of paying for a stable. Probably a good place to hang out if you were a horse thief.

The Sanitary Public Market.

Sanitary because hoofed animals weren't allowed inside.

Lots of flowers!

Next stop: Chukar's Cherries.

We got to go behind the counter for our sample of chocolate covered cherries and cherry salsa! Which I found super exciting.

See how excited I am!

See we were behind the counter!

Dad thought it was neat too!

Next: Beecher's Handmade Cheese.

Cheese makers making cheese.

Wouldn't it be fun to dive into those cheese curds?!?

Mac and cheese made with Beecher's Cheese.

So yummy, but may I suggest a little bit of thyme added to the recipe?

Cheese and crackers.

Mom trying a sample.

I thought this was impressive. Hula hoops, harmonica and guitar.

The buskers pay for a spot and time to play in the market. Not everyone gets a spot they have a kind of board that decides who gets in.

Next stop: Piroshky Piroshky.

Salmon and veggie.

They were OK, but I thought the pastry was a little soggy. I wouldn't wait in the GIANT line to buy one.

That was an especially nice thing about this tour, we didn't have to wait in line for our samples.

Different view - moving down through the market.

Those piroshkys (piroshkies?).

The 'first' Starbucks.

The original logo. Hmmmmmm.

Last stop: Etta's.

Crab cake with tomatillo salsa.

The salsa was good, good, good - the crab cake was OK.

The END.

This was a FUN tour! I was sad when it was over and wished it would have lasted a little longer. We saw, ate, learned and heard so much that, without this tour, we never would have known about.

Highly reccomended!

*sigh* I LoVe tours.